Letters
by AGENT Kuma-chan
Summary: Gift!fic for Masacra wonders. NaruIno, SasuSaku. Sometimes, when the weather is nice, Ino and Sakura go out to visit the boys in town. When they can't, Ino makes due with the occasional letter from Naruto, even if the paper is a hideous orange.


**For:** mascara_wonders. Sorry that this is a little late and the ending a little horrible. Here's to hoping this year is better than the last. Just for you, I actually started to watch gossip girl.

**Pairing: **NaruIno, SasuSaku

**Prompts:** letters, orange, twitch!Sasuke

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_Letters_

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…

His letters were always a bright orange. That both annoyed her and made her smile. Whenever she was too busy to go out to town, Ino would find one waiting on her desk. She never knew how he put it there but it was a bright reminder of her world outside those four walls.

Still, she pursed her lips at the latest one, a bright neon orange. Exactly where did he even find the envelopes? Who could even sell such a catastrophe—it should be banned if it wasn't already. Luckily, he didn't write in that colour or have paper that bright, so she was able to read his writing.

Read whatever she could understand, that is. He still had the worst handwriting. At lest he could spell properly now.

_Ino-chan!_

_How's Sakura-chan?_

(She twitched a little at that. Next time they met, she'd have to hit him. Who mentions another girl before asking about their own girlfriend?

…

And he didn't even ask about her. The nerve of him!)

_Well, I'm going to have fun this week. There's a new weapon I get to test out—Teme does too, but he's testing after me. Ha, I'm first! _

(Then there was a giant chunk that she couldn't read, something about dogs and fire, for some reason. Or was that 'd' a 'l'?)

_He was crabby yesterday again. We had nothing to do then and _something, something something.

_I think teme was worried about Sakura-chan. Of course, I teased him about that, but he didn't respond very well. _

_Did you get Sakura to tell you anything yet? I miss her. She hasn't been around in so long._

Something. Something. Something.

_Naruto_

Ino frowned. She missed the most important parts of the letter because of his handwriting.

Still, at least they were going to meet sometime this week. She could force him to tell her then.

-x-

Ino had a place she hid these hideous letters. A small hole behind her bed, a place no one looked and only she and Sakura knew about it.

"I can't have anyone associate these with me. I do not mix with orange." Ino told Sakura. "I can't hide them in the room or destroy them either. We aren't supposed to have contact with them."

Sakura just smiled knowingly, which annoyed Ino because her friend saw right through her. Some things were supposed to remain a secret, even from her friends, but it was hard to hide things from Sakura.

Sakura on the other hand was better at hiding. She had a smaller hole she hid her special treasures in. Inside it was the red ribbon Ino gave her when they were seven, the bracelet Naruto bought her when she was twelve and met him for the tenth time, and a few pictures. They are snapshots of her life at important moments—important to her at least—and beside them is the camera she bought years ago. There is an even smaller niche in the hole and there she stores the pair of earrings Sasuke liked.

They were the only pair he ever complimented, even though he complimented them years ago and she hadn't been able to wear them since.

-x-

Sakura was the one who introduced Ino to Naruto and Sasuke. It was back when they were twelve and still allowed to visit the village. Of course, after they turned fourteen and their duties started, it was forbidden and any meetings were on the sly.

During that first visit, they had snuck away from their guard. Ebisu was boring and useless and Sakura didn't want to share her friends with him.

"Are we there yet?" Ino asked impatiently. She really wanted to know about those boys that Sakura had been talking about for years, ever since she first met Ino. "We've been going through this muddy street for hours."

"It's only been ten minutes, pig," Sakura replied, turning left again. "And don't worry, we're here."

"I'm not a—ohh…." Ino sighed, forgetting her anger. Sitting on the steps of the building in front of them were two boys, one a blond and the other with spiky black hair. They both looked up when they saw the girls and immediately the blond jumped to his feet.

"Sakura-chan!" he yelled as he ran and tackled her to the ground. "I missed you."

"It's only been a week, you idiot."

Ino blinked at their banter. The blond boy was kind of cute, with his bright blue eyes and warm grin. The other boy though had a darker, more mysterious appeal. When he finally spoke, telling the blond to get off Sakura, it was a little hoarse but she didn't mind.

Dusting herself off, Sakura finally got off the ground. "Guys, this is Ino. She's my best friend _there_." Turning slightly to Ino, Sakura first pointed to the blond and then the black-haired boy. "This is Naruto and Sasuke. They're my best friends out here."

"Hi." Ino mostly stared at Sasuke, giving a small wave to Naruto.

"…" Sakura raised an eyebrow, sighing. Already she knew what her friend was thinking. "She'll be coming with me sometimes."

"Of course! Sakura's friends are my friends," Ino smiled widely at Sasuke, batting her eyes. Quietly, she whispered to her friend, "You never told me they are so hot!"

Apparently she didn't say it quiet enough for Naruto heard her and grinned.

When she looked back at it, it must have been his welcoming grin that hooked her. There was nothing else that could explain why she didn't go after Sasuke for long.

-x-

When Ino first met Sakura, they were eight. Ino had been standing in the main hall of their lord's mansion practicing her lessons when the doors opened and Lady Tsunade returned. Two guards pulled in a small, dirty girl. She was one of those rag-muffins that Ino had heard about, the street urchins that one could buy all sorts of wares from.

Apparently, Lady Tsunade took a liking to the young orphan and decided she was going to be a part of her guard. Sakura was going to get all the training and positions that someone higher than her would have gotten it.

Ino didn't like that. She had been hand-picked from her family for this duty and she had been practicing and learning for the last two years to even be allowed to train to be the lady's guard. For months she had been working day and night for that honour and that little nobody got in immediately.

It angered her and even when Lady Tsunade assigned Ino to help the little pink-haired brat, she ignored her.

The first time they met, Ino was jealous of Sakura.

-x-

It didn't take long for Sakura to dislike Ino as well. Whenever they talked, they would insult each other and sabotage each other's attempts to improve.

"I don't need to improve, you know," Sakura said one day. "Unlike you, pig, I have friends."

"Oh really, forehead?" Ino snorted. "We'll see. Where are your so-called 'friends'?" She glanced around.

"They can't come here, of course. They're boys!" Sakura shook her head. "They are slowly waiting for the time to come and get me out of here. Then I won't have to see you or that lady of yours ever again."

Ino laughed. "That's funny. They are going to rescue you? How?"

"Well, I'll go to the village one day and sneak away from the guards—"

"We can't go to the village until we're eleven. Even then, it's only if we become full-fledged apprentices and then it's only until we start our duties."

"…ok, then I'll escape from here and—"

"There are guards everywhere. They keep an eye on you until you start your specific duties."

"…"

"Besides, it's been a year. Where are your rescuers?"

Sakura frowned and finished chopping up the potatoes in silence.

-x-

It would take another year for the sparkle in Sakura's eyes whenever she talked about her friends and escaping to stop. Slowly, she spoke less and less about that and more and more about her duties.

Eventually, Sakura realized her friends were never going to rescue her. That did nothing to stop her fondness of them and when they became friends, she told Ino everything about them.

Once Ino saw how dull her friend looked compared to back then, she almost wished that Sakura was rescued. Or, at the very least, still believed she would be.

When Sakura stopped believing, something died inside of her. A few years after, when Sakura finally visited the village and her friends once more, something else died. It would take a few years for Ino to figure out what that was.

-x-

"Tell me about Sasuke-kun," Ino asked her one night when they were getting ready to sleep.

Sakura glanced at her friend, a frown gracing her face. "You like him." A statement more than anything else.

"Yeah…wait, do you like him?" That worried her because even if she wouldn't give up Sasuke, she didn't want to hurt Sakura too much.

"…" There was a long pause as Sakura unfolded her blanket. Her face was hidden behind the clothe for a moment. "He doesn't show his emotions well, you know."

"I think he's just shy. I'm sure he'll warm up to me eventually."

"…no, it's not that. He just doesn't show it because it's one of the rules he has to follow. Naruto is supposed to follow them too except he never liked rules. Sasuke wants to because…" Sakura's voice trailed off and Ino realized this was another secret she wouldn't know about. "Anyways, he won't show things like love, just anger and hate and pride. Those ones help him in battle."

"What is their job anyways?"

"Oh, they are scouts for the army. As they reached the minimum age requirement, they are also fight occasionally and do some missions."

"Well…"

Sakura gave Ino a mischievous grin. "What about Naruto? I think you'd like him."

She snorted, tossing a blonde lock over her shoulder. "Please, him? He's a clown."

"So are you, pig. Besides, he's nice."

"Nice, forehead? Nice is for elementary kids and first crushes."

Sakura laughed and they both crawled into bed as the lights flickered off. As Ino drifted off to sleep, she realized that Sakura never answered her question.

-x-

Sakura took Ino to the boys about six times within the next few months. During this time she realized the relationship Sakura had with the two boys. They were a small family, something due to the years they spent together on the streets. Sakura was sometimes the sister and usually the mother, mostly because the boys didn't know the word responsibility or when to stop fighting. The boys were brothers to each other, attacking each other violently sometimes but still keeping that love/hate relationship in the end.

Sasuke was, for the lack of a better word, cold. He had his moments, something Ino zoomed on for a while, when he would do something tremendously kind in his own fashion. It was hard to notice unless you looked for it because he cleverly disguised it with insults and annoyed grunts. Yet it was there all the same.

The rest of the time, though, he didn't like to show those emotions. Or his voice, for that matter, considering how often he remained silent. It might have had to do with how he was trained in the army.

That didn't make full sense because Naruto was in the army too and he turned out fine. Then again, Naruto was Naruto and obviously Sasuke took his duties seriously.

Another thing Ino noticed was the awkward air around Sasuke and Sakura.

-x-

Ino had a crush on Sasuke that lasted for all of one year. One day, though, she found herself seeing clear skies and sunny grins everywhere and realized that she was falling for Naruto instead.

It ticked her off to no end when she admitted it to Sakura, especially since she was right once again. Admitting it to Naruto took a few weeks longer because it was hard to sneak outside to the village.

Ino still liked to attack Sasuke with hugs every now and then afterwards. It was more of an old habit than anything else. She also did it because she knew Sakura wouldn't do it and it was for her.

-x-

Ino would like to say her confession was something brilliant and worthy of her, but that would be a lie. Of course, she embellished it a little when she told Sakura but it was really a simple confession. A very ordinary thing that embarrassed her with its blandness.

"Basically," Ino told her as they turned off the lights and pretended to sleep, "I went up to him, told him that he's lucky that I like him for some strange reason, and waited for a response. I wasn't nervous, of course, but I was in a hurry because the guard would notice."

"Really?" Sakura said in that voice that told Ino she doubted it.

"Of course. Why would I be nervous? Then Naruto realized what a miraculous chance it was and immediately hugged me and showered me with gifts and kisses." Actually, Naruto froze for a few minutes, unable to do anything and after she was just about to leave he hugged her once. Then the guards started to yell her name and she had to flee. "I had to set the line there, of course, and we're having a date soon."

"Right."

"It's ok. I know your poor date-less self—"

"Ino, you do realize this will once again mean sneaking. Especially since our fourteenth birthdays are coming up and we can't go out anymore."

"…I'll figure something out."

"Quiet!" One of the night guards yelled in the hall and the two girls quickly closed their eyes and lay still.

"…I'll cover for you," Sakura whispered and those were the last words Ino heard before falling asleep.

-x-

There was a very strict rule about jewelry. They weren't allowed to have any, along with perfume and make-up. Fancy dresses were frowned upon as well.

This of course made it very hard for Ino to get ready for her first date with Naruto. She couldn't wear anything nice or put on something attractive. The only thing she could really do was put her hair up into a stylish manner.

"I hate these rules," Ino grumbled as Sakura finished brushing her blonde locks. The rosette merely gave a non-committal sound as she held a few pins in her mouth. "How can they expect me to go out on a date like this?"

Sakura made a noise that soundly suspiciously like "they don't".

Ignoring her, Ino continued to rant. "I can't make myself look—well, I always look good and I shouldn't be in such a fuss over Naruto, of all people. Still, they shouldn't force these things on me. If I want to look hot, I should be allowed to do so. In fact, I shouldn't even need permission. Who are they to stop me?"

Another sound, something like, "you're future bosses."

"And—Oww! Watch what you're doing to my hair!" Ino screeched as Sakura tugged at it hard.

"I'm done." The smile on her face made Ino suspect she did this on purpose but as she glanced at the mirror, she liked what the girl did. Not too fancy that the guards would be suspicious when she went to town but good enough for a date. She tossed her two piggytails back, gave a charming smile, and smirked at Sakura. Oh, it would definitely do.

"I suppose I'm ready then," Ino murmured. Sakura shook her head, reaching into her pocket.

"Just take this first, ok?" Sakura pressed something into Ino's hands. "I wore this once, when I was a little younger."

"I'm taking something used?" Ino scowled at the thought before looking at her hands. In it was a pair of earrings and she gasped. "Earrings? Where'd you get these?"

"Here and there," Sakura said vaguely, which could only mean these were stolen, "These are my only set, so don't lose them, ok? I only wore them once anyways, so they are still fairly new in that sense."

"Thank you!" Ino hugged Sakura tightly before letting go.

-x-

Sakura only ever got angry once. Well, she got mad a few times but never really full blown angry.

Ino and Naruto weren't around to witness it—they were on a date—but they came back in time to see the aftermath and piece the story together. When they returned to Sakura and Sasuke, they saw one red, stinging cheek and a girl nearly in tears.

It wasn't too hard to guess what happened. Why it happened, though, was an entirely different matter.

-x-

Sakura wouldn't tell Ino what happened that day for a very long time. Naruto couldn't force it out of her either as she turned fourteen shortly after.

Sasuke, being Sasuke, didn't mention it at all. When the subject came up, he would leave or just ignore them. Even when he and Naruto fought, he didn't talk about it. The only thing he would say is that it was 'none of their business'.

They both changed too. Sakura was a more withdrawn, working harder than usual and didn't complain as much when she had to do the harder duties. Sasuke was more tense and irritable, disappearing for longer periods of time.

Sometimes was very wrong about this but Ino couldn't find out why.

-x-

"You know," Ino said sadly as she licked her ice-cream, "I'm going to turn fourteen in a week."

"It's your birthday already?" Naruto looked at her surprised. Then he cringed as Ino frowned at him.

"Yes, it will be my birthday in a week," she replied icily, "You aren't telling me you _forgot_ after we've been dating for so long."

"No…" Naruto grinned nervously at her. "I…I just was thinking how quickly time flies."

"…" She raised an eyebrow before sighing and turning back to her ice-cream dejectedly. "I won't be able to come out anymore."

"…"

"…"

"Wait here a moment." Naruto left before she could protest and she glared at his seat.

"Really, does he expect me to wait for him out here in the sun?" She sighed. "I don't know why I'm going to miss him."

By the time she nearly finished her ice-cream and his turned into a giant melted puddle, Naruto returned with a small box.

"Well, you can consider this an early birthday present, ok?" He had a surprisingly thoughtful expression as she started to open the gift. "You can always sneak out, you know. Maybe even convince Sakura to do it."

He smiled and her breath hitched. Why did he have to do that to her? It made it even harder to go back.

"This present should help."

"…" She finished opening it and stared at the black cloth inside. Taking it out, she realized it was a dress.

A very revealing, tight dress.

"…"

"You can wear this when you sneak out, ninja-style!"

She twitched. Suddenly, she doubted she would miss him as much as she thought.

-x-

"Ino-chan!" Naruto wailed and threw himself at her. She didn't dodge in time and they tumbled into the dusty ground.

"Naruto!" Ino screamed. "Look what you did to my dress."

"…." Naruto looked at the dust and mud covering her and smiled perversely. "You look very nice."

"Naruto!"

"Hey, that hurts." He clutched his ears tenderly. "I thought you were going to save me from the teme."

"I'd give you to him myself," she growled, getting up and dusting herself off. "What did you do this time?"

"Nothing!" Naruto replied innocently. A little too innocently for her. "I just talked a little about how I was beating him at one of our war games and he started to attack me."

"…I doubt you did just that."

"No really, I did!"

"…" Well, she had to admit that Sasuke would attack him because of that now days. "Was that all you did?"

"Of course!"

"…"

"I notice you aren't wearing the ninja outfit. I bought a spare, just in case you forgot." He noticed the strange look that she gave him and yelped. "Sasuke-teme!"

-x-

They stood beside each other, hands soapy from the sink. A mountain of dishes was on Sakura's right and a pile of clean towels stood on Ino's left. They worked in silence for a few minutes, alternating between scrubbing a dish and drying it.

Eventually, unable to stand the squeaking noise, Ino was about to speak when Sakura beat her to it.

"This is going to take all afternoon."

"Yeah." Ino smiled, happy that Sakura was acting more like Sakura for once. "Don't you hate having to clean up after one of those dinner parties?"

"It's like everyone uses extra dishes so we can have more work." Sakura grinned back.

"Just think about what they're doing to my fingers. They're going to turn wrinkled—"

"And no guy's going to ever want to come near them," Sakura finished for her, laughing. Ino mock-pouted before she gave up and laughed with her.

"But seriously, this is going to take all afternoon," Sakura continued. She gave a sideways look to her friend. "And they aren't going to come back until we're done."

"…" Ino glanced at her friend quickly. "You mean…"

"Yeah, they wouldn't notice. I can finish up while you're gone."

Ino nibbled her lip for a moment. "Shouldn't you go? I've been going for the last few times."

Sakura shook her head. "Nah, after all," she winked, "You're the one with a boyfriend."

Ino still looked hesitant, so she teased her. "Don't tell me you're bored of him already. Let me guess, you fancy one of the guards."

"Sakura!" Ino screeched. "Those guards are the most ugly—"

"I know, I know," Sakura pushed her friend to the door. "Though Lee is very sweet, you should know. Now, go quickly before they hear you and wonder who tried to kill you now."

"Hey!" Ino turned around but the door was already closed.

-x-

Sometimes, when it was nice outside, Ino would go out on a date. For some reason, Naruto always knew when she was coming—she suspected that Sakura somehow contacted him. Even if Naruto wasn't supposed to be at the castle, he was quick enough to sneak in and out without anyone noticing him.

He would have an easy job in town that day, for he was now a full-time member if the army and could choose what he wanted to do sometimes. Sakura would sneak Ino out—never vice versa, Ino couldn't convince Sakura to go no matter how hard she pleaded.

Usually, they would meet by the fountain in the town's square and Naruto would take her off somewhere. Occasionally, she would smack him because he would act perverted or like an idiot. Other times she would end up laughing due to his antics.

(And when he took her swimming, she ended up blushing because where did he get those abs?)

No matter what they did, it was always fun and Ino would find herself longing for another date. The castle never looked as gloomy as it did when she left the sun named Naruto.

-x-

"Why doesn't Sakura-chan ever come?" Naruto asked one day. He was breaking a rule, talking about another girl, but this question preyed on Ino's mind too.

"Apparently," Ino replied, "Sasuke was being an idiot."

"Teme's always an idiot."

"Like someone else I know." Ino stared at Naruto pointedly. He made an angry noise and she cut him off. "But he was being more of an idiot than usual."

"…"

"I think I should force Sakura to tell me. Corner her somewhere or something. You should…I doubt Sasuke will say anything. Um…get him to realize how badly he hurt her or something like that." Ino paused, thinking it over. "I know, just annoy him like usual until he finally gives up."

"…I'm not annoying."

-x-

"…would you stop asking me already?' Sakura crossed her arms as she sat on her bed, waiting for Ino to finish changing. "Seriously, there is nothing to tell."

"If there isn't, why don't you come to town then?"

"Because you can't cover for someone if your life depended on it," Sakura shot back.

"There were times when we both could have snuck there together. No one would have noticed."

"What if they did?"

"They never do. After all, we are two out of the hundred or so of our Lady's guards."

"I'm her personal guard!"

"But she was away on those days, leaving you here."

"…" There was nothing Sakura could say in reply to that.

-x-

"Ino, stop it already!"

"I won't until you tell me what happened."

"…" Sakura made an annoyed grunt before relenting. "Fine. Now please stop playing your—"

"Done." Ino quickly packed her instrument back into her case. She knew that not having a musical bone in her body would come handy one day. "Now," she plopped on her bed," Tell me what happened."

Sakura sighed and fell backwards onto her bed. Staring at the ceiling she started. "You know Sasuke is completely into the honour and abiding the rules, right?"

"Yeah, though I don't get why. Doesn't he break the rules more often than he follows them?"

"Yeah," Sakura laughed weakly, "but there are some rules that he never breaks. His father used to be in the army."

"Used to be?"

"Yeah, when he was little a horrible massacre occurred and his family died. Nearly all of them were in the army and they had a lot of enemies. I don't know exactly what happened but somehow he started to believe if he followed the rules better, that would never have happened."

"But he was a little kid! What could he have done?"

"…I don't know. I just know that he thinks that if the military rules were followed properly, or at least the ones he never breaks, then his family would still be here."

"…"

"He doesn't realize that if his family was still here, though, he would have never have become _our_ family."

-x-

Sasuke didn't hate Sakura or even dislike her. She was…a friend, in a sense, and he respected her judgment on some things. Compared to the dobe, she was the only one around him that could think clearly and find solutions to their problems. She was highly intelligent, after all.

(When he was younger, he tried to save money so she could go to school. Then he realized what a useless idea that was and stopped.)

Still, he did trust her and tried not to hurt her unnecessarily. Unfortunately, he still did. The first time was when he let her get captured by Lady Tsunade's guards. The second time was when he didn't save her for years.

After that, it was because she kept conflicting with the rules and he didn't want to deal with what that meant.

-x-

"I didn't mind just being his friend for a while. He…he treated me nicely and I knew I wasn't good enough for him anyways. I mean, the first time I even broached the topic of love, he just repeated the army rules. I think he did it on purpose, as a way of letting me know he wouldn't be able to treat me as anything other than a friend. He's perceptive and kind in that way."

"He's an idiot," Ino crossed her arms angrily. "Seriously. He's so grouchy and annoying these days. I swear, the second I appear I almost feel like he's about to say, 'Oh, it's just you.' Except, he doesn't because he _doesn't_ show those feelings. Hypocrite. "

"…really?" Ino could hear the faintest sound of hope in her voice and she started to exaggerate her tale a little.

"Yeah. I could almost see the excitement in his face when Naruto tells him someone's visiting him. Then he sees me and immediately goes comatose again. And he fights a lot more and I swear he's going to commit emotional suicide, he misses you so much. Why don't you visit him? He obviously needs you, since he's turning back into the rock he was born as."

Sakura started to laugh as Ino continued. It was a full sound, brash and loud just like Sakura was. "Yeah, right. Since when did Sasuke start pulling petals? You're making him sound like one of those depressed poets that visit every rainy day."

"Hey, I saw flower petals around him."

"Ino, Naruto was throwing half-dead flowers at you."

"…."

"Oh, stop glaring at me like that."

Their laughter died down and Ino finally asked, "Why'd you slap him?"

"…You remember, I was going to turn fourteen a few days after. That was my last visit…I wanted to finally confess. I probably would only see him rarely, if ever, and I just wanted to tell him. What better time was there? I told him and he…."

Ino heard a muffled sound and quickly turned to Sakura. There were tears dripping down her cheeks and she was gripping the blanket. "He looked a little surprised before telling me about the rules again. I yelled a little…and then he said that love was…useless…and I…" The tears kept falling but an angry expression took over her face. "I slapped him because he didn't have to shove those feelings back in my face like that."

"Is that why you won't visit?"

"I understand him but I'm still angry at him. And…it would be just awkward between us." Sakura gave Ino a half-smile, her eyes sad once more. "I don't want to have awkward or angry memories with them…besides, you need to visit them for better reasons than I do."

"Sakura…"

"It's fine. I doubt he misses me at all."

-x-

Naruto didn't mange to do anything but severely tick Sasuke off.

At first , Ino thought that Sasuke was feeling guilty, avoiding the question because he didn't know what else to do. He didn't like looking at his feelings too much, after all.

However, after Naruto appeared before her for the sixth time with a bruised face and Sasuke left to go fix his torn clothes, Ino started to have her doubts.

-x-

Before long, Ino grew used to Sakura's refusals and not seeing Sasuke when she arrived.

"He's tossing his life away," Ino grumbled to Naruto. "And what's worse, he's making her toss hers as well."

"They're going to die?" Naruto shouted, jumping out of his chair. "I have to stop them."

She quickly grabbed his shirt, pulling him down to his chair. "You idiot," she hissed loudly, "I didn't say they're dying. And stop making a scene."

Naruto frowned. "You're making the scene now," he pointed out as customers stared at her.

"You…" She made an enraged yell before storming out. The weeks of frustration and failed plans were starting to get to her.

A pair of earrings she had been admiring earlier appeared on her table a week later. She smiled at the thought. She really should get angry more often.

-x-

On Sakura's sixteenth birthday, Naruto sends a special bright pink envelope with a small letter in it. There's a small card, small bouquet of daises, and a stuffed dog beside it.

"He remembered your birthday, without any prodding?" Ino said in disbelief. "Why does he always come either a week late or early for mine?"

"That's because," Sakura grins darkly, "I've beat it into his bones what would happen if he forgot."

"And he got you a dog. I ask for a cat and he tells me that's hard to get but he got you a dog?"

"Ino, it's not a real dog."

"Is it too much to ask for? I just want a small kitten."

"Are you listening to me?"

"Just a small, white…hey, you dropped something." Ino pointed at a scrap of paper on the floor, not bothering to bend down and pick it.

"Where'd that come from?" Sakura reached for it, turning it over to read what's on it. "…"

"What does it say?" Ino peered over Sakura's shoulder to read two words, _Next time?_

"Next time?" Ino puzzled over the words while Sakura stared at it a little longer, smiling broadly. "Who wrote that? It's far too legible and elegant to be Naruto's."

"Not to mention it's not on that ridiculously bright paper."

"See? So who is it?"

Sakura shook her head, writing a small reply on the back. "Here, give this to Naruto, ok?"

"I thought Naruto—" Ino paused, realizing the only other person who could have sent the note. "Hey, he…"

Sakura had already left the room, leaving only the note with the words, "_next time."_

-x-

If Ino had to use one word to describe her role with Lady Tsunade, she would use the word 'annoying'. She liked working there—the other girls working there were fun. Sometimes the work was hard or tedious, but the gossip and chatter that flew through the air as their hands moved in time with one another made it all worthwhile.

Besides, she would never have met Sakura or Naruto if she hadn't come here.

The strict rules, though, were just too much. How could they expect (her) any girl to not have make-up or clothes or _boys_? Even if the reasons were good—Ino doubted they were—those rules were just evil and Ino hated that part of her life.

There wasn't really any break from the work and Ino hated that even more. It was boring and useless and she couldn't stand it. The highlights of her life would be the occasional visit to town, especially when Sakura managed to sneak away too.

She couldn't wait for those rare days but until then she could survive on the odd letter. Even if it's a hideous orange

…

…

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…


End file.
